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At EWG, our team of scientists, engineers, policy experts, lawyers and computer programmers pores over government data, legal documents, scientific studies and our own laboratory tests to expose threats to your health and the environment, and to find solutions. Our research brings to light unsettling facts that you have a right to know.
Trouble Downstream: Upgrading Conservation Compliance: » Finding #2
Finding #2: Without corrections to policy design constraints and adequate staff funding to effectively implement the program, conservation compliance will not reduce soil erosion on the majority of U.S. cropland to rates considered “sustainable.”
Soil conservation compliance plans are only required on cropland receiving federal farm subsidies and designated “highly erodible land” (HEL). But a great deal of unsustainable, excessive erosion occurs on cropland that is not technically classified highly erodible. According to the National Resources Inventory, of the 102 million acres of cropland nationwide eroding at unsustainable rates, nearly half (48 million acres) are classified as non-highly erodible (NHEL) and thus do not have conservation compliance requirements (See Chart 4).
Source: Data calculated from USDA’s National Resources Inventory, 2003.
In the 10 states that border the Mississippi River, 33 million of the 123-million cropland acres are eroding unsustainably. Half of those 33 million acres (16.4 million) are non-highly erodible lands and thus not subject to conservation compliance.
When looking at the problem of unsustainable erosion at the state level, four of the 10 states that border the Mississippi River have more of their unsustainable erosion problem occurring on non-highly erodible land than on highly erodible land: Minnesota, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Thus, conservation compliance does not address this significant problem on the 10.2 million acres in these four states where most of the 10 state’s 16.9 million acres of NHEL-unsustainable erosion is occurring (See Chart 5).
With yearly budget cuts hampering the ability of NRCS field offices to conduct conservation compliance status reviews, it is increasingly difficult for agency staff to adequately monitor the environmental impacts of agricultural activities. Expanding conservation compliance to address unsustainable erosion problems and increasing funding to support NRCS staff or certified technical service providers, are critical components to improving the conservation compliance policy.
Source: Data for calculated from USDA’s National Resources Inventory, 2003.
